Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-10-29
EMBARKING THE AMERICAN MAILS.
Scenes on an Ocean Steamer at
Queenstown.

scene on an American mail-steamer on
the day after she leaves Liverpool, as
she steams along the Irish coast in the
bright sunlight of breezy morning.
The varying forms and colors of head
land and shore would alone be worthy
of notice; but the curious mass CT
humanity gathered on the great ship is
perhaps more interesting. And it
must be admitted that the saloon
passengers, taken as a whole, have to
the observer less of interest and
character than the miscellaneous
throng who collect in the less favored
quarters of the ship. There is a
monotonous appearance of comfort and
prosperity about the saloon passengers
each with his private chair-which
renders them little dull. But every
step among the steerage passengers
Here is sturdy fellow from a York
shire iron-works on his way to the
States to seek for employment. Close
by the saloon door is labOrer from
Wilts-tall, rawboncd, with couple of
children and weary wife. The whole
family have an air of dependency
about them which does not augur well
for Their future. A couple of Italian
masons are laughing and joking with
very light hearts indeed; and so one by
one, each differing from the other-sad
or glad. hopeful or Respondent. full of
confidence in the future or feeling that
across the ocean life can not be harder
than at home-the M scellaneous
throng moves about the ship.
But the white buildings on Roche's
point cleaning in the sunlight tell that
the vessel is nearing Queenstown, and
a feeling of movement and hustle comes
over passengers and crew. There is
talk OF a run ashore; there is an eager
ness to see the last British port, a
haste TO post the last letters to friends
in England. The ship slowly steams
up the harbor, past the heights of Car
Isle fort, and on as if she were bound
straight to the white terraces of
Queenstown. Gradually she ceases to
make headwav. and comes to Il stand
still between the Little village of White
gates and the bleak sides of Spike
island. The tender is approaching;
but already boats full of untidy girls,
selling apples. and with baskets of
bOg-oak ornaments and lace, have
surrounded the ship. AS the tender
draws alongside it is evident that the
ma Is have not arrived; there are only
piles OF luggage and a pile of passen-
gers. Some are English or Americans
who have crossed through Ireland to
shorten the voyage by some sixteen
hours, or to visit Killarney; most are
emigrants from Ireland. Soon the
thrOng of Irish pours over the gang
way-a widowed father carrying his
infant, followed by a half a dozen
brOwn-eyed gentle looking children; a
stalwart youth with a comely sister; q
hard wizen-faced old farmer in a coat
of frieze down to his heels. with his
wife. Nothing is more striking than
the fresh beauty of the Irish children
and the withered hardness of the mid
dle-aged and elderly men and women.
Most of them carry their worldly goods
in bag or handkerchief. Their heaps
of bedding. with the tin utensils for the
voyage fastened to them, are pitched
one after another on the deck, while
the owners vainly try to push past the
line of seamen to secure their proper
ty. 1t would be sad sight, this hur-
rying of these people from their homes,
if one could forget the s9ualid misery
from which they are escaping. But
the tender has been emplied, and Is off
again for the shore to meet the mails.
The train has just drawn up. and soon
files of porters. like line of ants, are
putting the sacks on board, and
! the tender is prepared to make
her second trip. This time she has
scarcely any other burdern but the
mails; and so, when she comes along
side of the steamer. q dozen of the
crew are very soon at work piling them
on the deck of the ship. An officer
counts the bags as they come on board
tone. two, three, four, five. six. seven,
eight. nine, ten, tally" So they 90
over the gangway by tens. They took
up a great part of the space on
the tender, and they make
huge pile on the steamer; some
three hundred sacks of letters and pa
pers make it possible to realize the
vast correspondence of the present day.
But for some time the great ship has
been slowly moving seaward with the
tug attached to her amidships, and the
line of seamen hurrying, each with his
sack. across the gangway. The long
dark sides of the mail-steamer, and
her lofty upper deck, quite dwarf the
tender; the captain looking down from
his bridge seems far aloft. The rail-
ings are lined with hundreds of faces
there are fully thousand passengers
on the ship-watching the mails come
on board. Every one except the regu-
Jar passengers between New York and
Liverpool, of whom there are always
several on board. look little anxious.
Most of the poorer men and women are
sad.
1t is a curious spectacle to stand on
the bridge of the tender and look along
the sides of the ship at the great vessel
and the varying faces on her. But the
last bag is on board, the bell on the
steamer is sharply struck. and few
friends OF passengers. newspaper
boy, and some other miscellaneous per-
sons hurry on board the tender to 60
ashore. The hawsers are cast off and
the little tug steams ahead of the big
ship, rounds to for the shore when she
has got some lengths ahead, and is
soon, with the quick rapid strokes of
her wheels, making for the quay at
Queenstown. The great steamer steals
away to the sea with kind of ire
sistible and almost imperceptible mo-
ton. The passengers forms soon be.